New Delhi, April 16 (IANS): The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed the city government to appoint special public prosecutors within four weeks in the special court set up to handle cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal who sought direction to the Delhi government to appoint special prosecutors for such courts.

The PIL said that section 28 of the POCSO Act "mandates establishment of a court of session to be special court in every district" and section 32 "mandates appointment of special public prosecutors".

The plea said the government has neither constituted special courts nor appointed special public prosecutors. The Act came into force Nov 14, 2012.

"An estimated 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 years have experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence involving physical contact," the petition said.